Owning Mahowny (2003)

A bank manager (Hoffman) with: (a) a gambling problem and (b) access to a multi-million dollar account gets into a messy situation. Based on the story of the largest one-man bank fraud in Canadian history.

Director:

Richard Kwietniowski

Writers:

Gary Stephen Ross (book), Maurice Chauvet (screenplay)

Stars:

Philip Seymour Hoffman, Minnie Driver, John Hurt

3 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Philip Seymour Hoffman	...	Dan Mahowny
Minnie Driver	...	Belinda
John Hurt	...	Victor Foss
Maury Chaykin	...	Frank Perlin
Ian Tracey	...	Det. Ben Lock
Sonja Smits	...	Dana Selkirk
K.C. Collins	...	Bernie (as Chris Collins)
Jason Blicker	...	Dave Quinson
Vince Corazza	...	Doug (as Vincent Corazza)
Roger Dunn	...	Bill Gooden
Eric Fink	...	Psychologist
Mike 'Nug' Nahrgang	...	Parking Attendant
Tanya Henley	...	Teller
Brona Brown	...	Teller
Philip Craig	...	Briggs

Storyline

Dan Mahowny was a rising star at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. At twenty-four he was assistant manager of a major branch in the heart of Toronto's financial district. To his colleagues he was a workaholic. To his customers, he was astute, decisive and helpful. To his friends, he was a quiet, but humorous man who enjoyed watching sports on television. To his girlfriend, he was shy but engaging. None of them knew the other side of Dan Mahowny--the side that executed the largest single-handed bank fraud in Canadian history, grossing over $10 million in eighteen months to feed his gambling obsession.

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Plot Keywords:

bank | gambling | canadian | fraud | bank fraud | 

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Taglines:

To some it's a game. To others it's a habit. But to Dan Mahowny -- beating the odds is everything

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Genres:

Crime | Thriller | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [United States]

Country:

Canada UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 September 2003 (Argentina)

Also Known As:

Incrível Obsessão

Filming Locations:

Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$33,287 (USA) (2 May 2003)

Gross:

$1,011,054 (USA) (17 October 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alliance Atlantis Communications, Astral Media, Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit (CPTC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

While this is not technically a remake, the film The Borrower is based on the same true story.

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Goofs

In Toronto, with no other source of large sums of money, Mahowny converts a customer's $200,000 withdrawal to $300,000 to steal the excess. Yet when he arrives in Atlantic City, the cage person acknowledges his payment of $100,000. In 1980, $100,000 US would have cost at least $115,000 Canadian.

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Quotes

Investigator #1: You've got a gambling problem, right?
Dan Mahowny: No...
[chuckles]
Dan Mahowny: No, sir.
Investigator #1: Come on. You didn't get a buzz out of it?
Dan Mahowny: I have a... financial problem. A shortfall.

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Crazy Credits

At the end of the closing credits you'll see the strongroom door from the start again and hear the sound of the ball in a roulette wheel. Rien ne vas plus.

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Connections

Referenced in Richard Roeper & the Movies: Jack Goes Boating (2010)

User Reviews

Engaging 'true crime' tale

Interesting examination of a young Canadian bank executive who embezzles money to feed an insatiable gambling addiction.

Hoffman gives a yeoman's if not overly subdued performance as Dan Mahowny, and the film for the most part is a better than average watch. Strangely, the film plops you right into chapter 5 or thereabouts, and your left wondering who is this guy for the entire film. The motivation for Mahowny's odd behavior is never really broached. The film starts with Mahowny sports betting and playing for the usual small stakes, he then mysteriously falls off a cliff in his wagering amounts and we're supposed to swallow that it all stemmed off of a 10000 obligation? Then we're off to the races as he becomes this casino legend. Needed a little more development, and thats being kind.

The direction is clever, in particular the ironic use of scenes showing the symbiotic relationship of bank and casino. On the nay side, the small budget generates the expected technical issues, most glaringly, never once providing camera-work that remotely convinces you he's in either Vegas or Atlantic City. The casino interior shots aren't properly done to eliminate the claustrophobic soundstagitis, and the only exterior shots found in the entire movie, are blatantly in Canada. As example, there is a scene where Mahowny is contemplating life while standing on the beach of the Atlantic Ocean. Its so obviously a lake or even pond and not the ocean, that its borderline embarrassing. Finally John Hurt, who i really like, is given liberty to really ham it overboard. But believe it or not, I genuinely like this film, and do recommend it.

PS/ I don't care that what anyone says, the woman who hits him up for 100 bux in the casino is Sandra Oh.